I was fortunate to be invited to exhibit at the Woodlands Waterways show this last weekend in truly beautiful Woodlands, Texas. Never having driven to a show in Texas, it was a long trek but the Bayou was something beautiful to see. Arrived on Thursday after a two day drive and took advantage of their home stay program which was delightful. The person that hosted me and my assistant made us dinner and breakfast and it was so much nicer than staying at a hotel. It was totally non-obtrusive, as we were in a wing of her house that was not connected to the rest and it was lovely. If anyone is afraid that their schedule and freedom will be diminished by using these perks, think again...this is a wonderful and cost effective alternative when doing a show. Thank you WWAF for making it possible...I wish more would.
Set up was so well organized that is was a dream, not that setting up ever is, but as close as possible. Loaded with lots of water and snacks from the committee, we drove to our spot and were able to unload right in front. I was a newbie this year so I didn't expect the best spot but really, there were no bad spots that I could see. The show is one long trail that follows the river and everyone gets exposure to the crowds. Friday night was a reception for the VIP artists that donated work for the art education fundraiser. Not much different than any other patron's affair, except that the food was fabulous and the drinks were flowing.
Breakfast was provided on both mornings and volunteers came around constantly with snacks and water. In fact, when we got there first thing in the morning there was about 12 bottles of water already in our booths.
Saturday was sunny and when the gates opened at 10 am the crowds poured in. There is a hefty 12 dollar entry fee but that didn't seem to keep the crowds away. It was pretty steady but as most shows go the first half of the day was everyone pursuing the whole show before buying. They did buy, big items walked by, lots of them. I did ok, it wasn't fabulous but it wasn't bad either. The crowd seemed open to all types of work, I thought it might be a bit of a conservative crowd but it wasn't. It was busy all day.
Sunday was overcast and looked like rain and it sprinkled in the the morning a bit, but by afternoon it was clear and a bit cooler, so the crowds came out in full force. Many people came back on Sunday after looking on Saturday to buy, which is always good. At 5 break down started and it went pretty smooth since it was a long line of cars that had to come in and it could have been a big mess. It wasn't- they had their act together and it was fine. You had to break down completely before you could get a ticket to drive in but it was no problem.
I would definitely do this show again, even though it's the farthest show I have ever driven to. It was worth it. It is a classy show- billed as #3 in the nation on Sourcebook and it lived up to it's hype. Was it the best show I have done this year? No, but I think it could be, if i am able to go back and build up a clientele. It seemed to me that this group really likes to know their artist's before they invest. Hope to do it again.
Comments
I don't subscribe to AFSB anymore, so wouldn't have seen it. The sample quoted there is going to be fairly small in any event, and most of the people who made less won't say that, so the numbers tend to be skewed no matter what.
I remember seeing the 8K sales average too, but NO idea where I saw it. I was thinking if I made 1/3 that I'd have a great show. oh well...
Also, it was great to meet you Jim- your work is fabulous and nice to see someone else that posts on AFI...rare for me.
Jim, I swear, I read it somewhere....-I -I think it was on the last year listing page in the Sourcebook, where you look up by the month- but I saw it and thought to myself ...gravy train!!!
Ha- my mistake- also fairly unrealistic........did anyone else see this besides me?
I think we can all agree that this show had top quality work and those large pieces walking by us were due to the vast selection provided. If I had been walking that show instead of selling, I would have had a hard time deciding what to buy- there was a lot of great stuff. I too sold medium priced work and many small originals. I did get an order after the show- a nice add on. I think that anytime you have so much to choose from it gets spread out and either you are the lucky recipient or left wishing. I guess the only thing that we all are skirting around about is that the posts said that the average take was 8K and maybe it was for photographers with tons of prints or sculptors with big ticket items (maybe it skews the result) but it wasn't like that for me. I had a decent and above average show. I think that 8K number was greatly exaggerated and probably threw us all off. (Where did it come from anyway?) Suffice to say that the joy of doing the show outweighed the result and it was a beautiful place to boot.
This was my first year at the Woodlands and this is all good news to hear about the organization to get to your booths along the waterway. I was wondering about that. My booth was in the park so I just dollied in from the library parking lot. It was a cinch. ;) Unfortunately, I had car trouble on the way down and didn't make it until late Friday afternoon so I missed out on the Art dash :( Sounds like it was a lot of fun. If I make it in again next year (cross fingers, knock on wood) I'm going to give myself 3 1/2 days of travel time, not 3!
The crowd sure seemed thick in my area on Saturday but a little sparse on Sunday. I didn't sell anything near what I was expecting to, which was a little disappointing, but I met a LOT of fabulous people and they all genuinely interested in my work and my process. I had several people come back 2,3, sometimes 4 times to debate about getting a piece but in the end, no sale. One lovely lady did contact this week and decided to get a piece. So maybe the others will too.
Other artists around me that were experiencing the same type of sales as me were selling mid sized to smaller works and we all noted how much LARGE art was being carried out.
So glad the storm that was possible passed us by. A few sprinkles wasn't too bad at all! And Jim, I loved your shout out to Cynthia. She is the Best! So much communication was so helpful to a newbie to the show. Thanks Cynthia :)
And gotta say, the quality of art that was at this show was top notch. There was something for everyone and it was all SO beautiful! Loved being a part of this event.
The organizers at the Woodlands do a great job of getting the artists in and out of a very tricky venue. There's really only one entrance and one exit, and depending on where your booth is, you may or may not be able to park near it. The booths up near the Marriott are on the tightest part of the walkway. But usually there are blank spots that a van or two can pull off into. At load out they get those who have broken down quickly into the area, in booth order, at about 5:45. Then the next wave goes in around 6:45, and one final wave at about 7:45. They use the library parking lot as a staging area. Very well orchestrated by Glen and his crew.
The load-in is more relaxed now, as they added a day (Thursday). Used to be EVERYONE had to load in on Friday, and it was a bit more hectic. Due to a concert on Thursday night, the 200 section was not allowed to load in on Thursday, so we elected to come in real early on Friday morning (midnight) to set up the tent, and then came back Friday afternoon after a good night's sleep to hang the art.
Sales for me were down from last year. The crowds were a little slower than last year, perhaps due to the threat of weather. Mostly smaller work this year.The spots at the far end of the Waterway definitely get less traffic, and the little park tends to be the turn-around for quite a few patrons. But all in all, it's a good show, and a lovely venue.
The big storms that shut down Main Street Fort Worth also shut down my wife's flight home on Monday morning, so we laid over for a day until she could get home on Tuesday. We had a relaxing lunch and wandered around a bit, and generally had fun.
One last note: Cynthia Reid, who is the Artists Relations director for the show, does an absolutely fabulous job of communicating with the artists. As an artist herself, she understands the work it takes to get the show organized, and does everything she can to help smooth the way for the artists that are invited every year. Thanks, Cynthia!
Thanks Kimberly, Cindi and S Brian for commenting on the show. Brian let us know how Oklahoma is- that's a new one on the radar and I'd love to know how you do.
It never fails, not matter where you are located in a show you always think some other part of the show is getting more patrons then you...not so, same people they just amble around a lot. Overall, however, I wouldn't say this was an overwhelming show in turns of numbers attending but still a lot of people.
The crowd was art smart, asked good questions, knew their stuff and were very engaged, not the walking dead that I've seen recently at some shows. You know the ones, they walk by and don't even look at the art booths let alone talk to the artists, they grab the lemonade and popcorn and that's it! I didn't even see any lemonade or popcorn at this show, just beer!
Depending on where you were located you either had a lot of space behind your booth or seemingly very little. Booths were side to side so not much room there. I was next to a free standing sculptor so I had a free corner space with lots of room between us.
Sounds like y'all had good sales, not so much for us on the far western end of the waterway. The metal artist on the other side of me sold nothing even though people were very engaged with his work. I sold mostly smalls ($25) of my photography and some mid sized matted pieces. I made enough to drive home but it wasn't worth writing home about and because I didn't sell much I didn't drive back to Denver to fill in my inventory and instead did a Route 66 road trip on the way to the next show! I've learned to make lemonade!
Met and introduced myself to Jim Parker, how come your AFI picture makes you look so young? ;-P I gawked and admired his work before moving on to say hello to some other art show buddies.
The festival committee makes a big deal of their status on AFSB but based on my and others around me results I don't get it.
Nuff said, it's on to the Oklahoma Festival of the Arts, a new show for me so I'm ready to see what it's all about!
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